Rain-alarm.



PATEN'IED MAY l, 1906.

V. A. BEVER. RAIN ALARM.

AORNEYS APPLICATION FILED MAY 9, 1905.

WIT/VESSES:

JMW

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 1, 1906.

Application filed May 9,19-05. Serial No. 259,557.

T0 @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VINCENT ALoYsIUs DEVER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, in the countyof Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Rain-Alarm, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to automatic alarm devices and the obj ect of the invention is to produce a device of thiskind which is especially adapted to give an alarm if it should begin to rain.

The invention is intended to be most useful for the purpose of preventing damage to curtains or furniture in the neighborhood of open windows in residences or apartments.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts to be more fully described hereinafter and definitely set forth in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specication, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective of the device, showing the wiring thereof diagrammatically and Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the device representing the same as attached to a support and illustrating how the device operates to close the circuit.

Referring more particularly to the parts, 1 represents a block of any common form, such as that shown, to the forward face of which I attach a fixed contact-plate 2. The body of this contact-plate preferably projects forwardly and upwardly in an inclined direction, as indicated, the extremity thereof being turned upwardly to form a contact-tip 3. Upon the foot 4 of this contact-plate a binding-post 5 is formed or attached. Upon the upper face of the block I attach a movable contact-plate 6, the same having an offset foot 7, facilitating the attachment, as shown. At this point a binding-post 8 is provided, which may afford means, as indicated, for attaching the block to a support 9, such as a window-sill. To this end the threaded stem 10 of the binding-post may be extended downwardly, as shown. The body of the movable contact plate 6 is preferably of slightly-resilient material and extends upwardly in an inclined direction to such an extent as to constitute a tongue. It is located directly above the contact-plate 2. The extremity is bent upwardly and back upon itself, so as to constitute a clip 11, under which a piece 12, of absorbent material, such as blotting-paper, may be inserted. Near the foot 7 of the contact-plate 6 an opening is formed, through which a set-screw or adjusting-bolt 13 is passed, the threaded body of this bolt being mounted in an opening 14, passing vertically downwardly into the block. From this arrangement the bolt 13 evidently affords means for adjusting nicely the position of the tongue 6 with respect to the contact-tip 3.

In using the device it is mounted in some exposed position just within a window-sill or at some other point likely to be wet bythe falling rain. An electric circuit 15 would have its terminals attached to the binding-posts 5 and 8 and would include a battery 16 and an alarm-bell 17. The position of the tongue 6 would be nicely adjusted, as suggested, so as to maintain the same at a slight distance from the contact-tip 3. If it should rain, the absorbent material 12 will ,take up a quantity of water and increase substantially in weight. This increase of weight will operate to depress the tongue 6, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and thus close the circuit 15 through the contact-tip 3 and thetongue 6. In this way an alarm will be given and the occupant will be given notice that windows should be closed to prevent the damage suggested.

It will be evident from the description that by providing a plate 12 of relatively large area a sheet of absorbent material may be attached thereto, of larger or smaller area, as may be desired, and by regulating the adjustable screws a very delicate indicator is obtained and one acting much quicker than where a collecting-cup is used, since the absorbent material would collect moisture in larger quantities than the collecting-cup.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- Y A device of the class described, consisting of a block and a fixed contact-plate attached to the vertical face of the block, a movable contact-plate attached to the upper face of the block and projecting above the fixed contact-plate, an adjusting-screw in connection with the movable contact-plate for regulating the distance between the plates, a plate of relatively large area on the end of the mov- IOO able Contact-plate7 an absorbent material name lto this specification in the presence of fcarried by the rfelatively large pllate and atwo subscribing Witnesses.

Ording means or depressing t e movable oontaot-plate When moist, and means Where- VINCENT ALOYSIUS BEVER' 5 by to secure the absorbent material on the Witnesses:

relatively large plate. C. lV. CROASDILL,

In testimony whereof I have signed my ALBERT B KIRKPATRICIL 

